The Curious Case of the Two Dirk Gentlys

29: The Message

For a dead man Friedkin looked surprisingly good. Most people spent their deaths white as a sheet and flat on their backs. Friedkin had plenty of colour in his cheeks and was moving around like a healthy man should. His wound had healed over which Todd supposed made sense. After all, he had been down there for over two months with very little physical activity to injure himself further. Yet the fact he suffered no sign of infection was a small miracle. More confusingly was the fact that the hole in his shirt had healed over just as well as his skin. Perhaps whatever entity was running things down there considered it cruel to let a man spend entirety in ripped clothing but wasn't kind enough to offer him a shirt that didn't remind him of his greatest mistakes. Not that Friedkin needed reminding. He was sure he'd never forget.

"Hey." Friedkin waved awkwardly.

"Hey." Todd mumbled.

"Is this yours?" He asked, signalling to Robert. Robert hadn't moved, he sat back first against a pile of draws and desks. There was no way all this stuff was from their house. He stared up at the two men, reduced to the role of a small, confused child. Did these two know each other? Was this yet another person that was mysterious tied to his wife? He always knew she was a strange women with a strange past, it was one of the things that drew him to her, but with the addition of detectives with unexplained powers, his sons own new found abilities, this dark hole and all the stars in the sky he was beginning to think he was losing the plot.

"What? Oh...yeah." Todd sighed.

"Thanks, Todd. I feel really appreciated right now." Robert grumbled.

"Do you think he could stay down here for a few minutes more? It's pretty safe down here and I really need to talk to you." Said Friedkin.

"Pretty safe? Oh sure, I'm happy just to stay here all alone in this 'pretty safe' hole." Robert scoffed.

"Thank you." Todd smiled. Robert, who had officially entered his ungenerous mood, stuck his middle finger up into the still air. Todd failed to react. He was used to fair worse  than swearing. Friedkin walked Todd a few steps away, just out of earshot of Robert. He didn't think Robert was any sort of security risk. He didn't even expect him to understand what was happening, he sure didn't at first, but the little training he had was still in fall effect, privacy was key.

"Is Dirk still with you? I've been trying to keep up with him but he moves so fast." Said Friedkin.

"Yeah he's up there." Todd pointed up. "Wait keep up? You've been watching us?" He asked.

"Of course, I've been watching all the psychics. Although, as it turns out, they're not really psychics at all." Friedkin explained.

"Really?" Todd rolled his eyes. At least the poor man had got there in the end.

"Yeah, yeah fine. I'm a bit late. Just...I need you to get a message to him. I was really hoping he would be the one to come down here. You know I thought I was setting everything up really well. I just...let the phonebooks slide, got you over here, and then last minute that other Dirk, that Svald guy, I guess he got nervous or something and I end up stuck with you. Um...no offense." He frantically ranted.

"Wait? You got us over here? Did you do this to Albert." Asked Todd.

"What? No. The universe would never let me set up a case, it certainly wouldn't let me give a kid powers. Phonebooks though...meh phonebooks are fair gain." Friedkin told him. Friedkin and the universe had an interesting working relationship. He was the roommate that the universe never asked for. Still, he was there to stay and was oddly eager to learn. A lifetime of ignorance gave way to an entirety of wisdom. What he had struggled and in many cases flat out refused to learn through reading he now learned by ear and through the illusions that danced in the sky. He was slow but determined and the universe had all the times in the world to teach him.

"Alright...well what's the message?" Asked Todd.

"You have to destroy Blackwing." Friedkin told him firmly.

"What?" Exclaimed Todd.

"Well not you personally. The psychics.  The not psychics. Six to be exact. Though you're probably going to need to help. They're pretty much useless without their assistants."
Friedkin grumbled.

"But I thought you..."

"I was. I still am, though only due to slow paperwork." He quickly interrupted. "And I wish it could work but it doesn't. It never has, it never will, I've seen that with my own eyes."

"I...I don't understand. What do you mean you've seen it?" It could be that the short time Friedkin had spent running Blackwing was enough of a sample to write the whole thing off. Todd wouldn't blame him for that one bit.

"Look." Friedkin reached his arm up into the air. Despite the stars being so high up the universe responded as if it  was only a few inches away. His fingerprints stained light grey against the glittering black. He painted a small streak before bringing his arm down. The stars around it fled, their silver threads cut by the stain.

"The universe is like...a giant brain and the holistics are like...neurons. They do some important shit and they're all connected to the things they need to be connected to. Agreed?" Friedkin started.

"Agreed." Todd nodded.

"Now Blackwing, as represented by this grey streak here, is kind of like a tumour. It screws with the neurons. They're not where they should be when they should be with the people they're supposed to be with. In some cases they're flat out destroyed. Which causes a whole lot of trouble. You follow?" He asked.

"I think so." Said Todd.

"Luckily, the breakout was basically the treatment the brain needed." He took his sleeve and wiped the slate clean. The stars timidly returned to their spot and reached out their shining webs, linking too each other once again. "Brains are very adaptable. Did you know that? It takes a lot of time and a lot of effort but it can do it. Ten years later and the universe was pretty much well again, giving or take a few helpful accidents."

"And then what?" Asked Todd.

"Then me and Wilson stuck our noses in and..." he placed his hand on the impossible ceiling and carefully bought it back to his side, leaving behind a powdery hand print. The stars reacted violently, extinguishing themselves in a second, leaving the trio in darkness. Golden sand swirled around Friedkin's hand before forming itself into a candle that offered a little in the black.

"Big tumour. The universe has a lot more riding on his holistics than it used to." Said Friedkin.

"That's not good." Todd thought aloud.

"No shit it's not got." Friedkin snapped. "The universe is freaking the fuck out, dude. It's letting the space between world's tear, it's letting people like Marzanna's out of it's grip, it's giving abilities to people who are not ready to have them. Do you think Albert should be perfectly teleporting galactic distances at two?"

"Galactic distances? This is the sofa." Todd laughed nervously.

"Does this look like a sofa to you? That's just a door. You're not even in your universe anymore. You're outside of it. Nobody should be able to find the path here aged two. Even Francis went a few steps at a time with his powers." Friedkin ranted.

"Excuse me." Said Robert, shaking in the darkness. "I can see your busy with your...breakdown but could you maybe hurry up?"

Todd looked to Friedkin. He nodded and Todd suddenly found himself able to breath again. There had been a ten ton weight on his chest that had just been lifted. It was like the universe itself had been pressing down on him.

"Go on. Get him out of here and take the message. The longer Blackwing is running loose the more trouble the rest of us will be in." Said Friedkin. He clicked his fingers and the stars came back to life. Todd nodded and returned to Robert. Just as he'd promised he'd stayed pretty much glued to his spot.

"Hop on my back." Said Todd.

"Are you serious?"

"Do you want to get out of here or not?" Todd scowled. Robert sighed and obeyed. Todd sent his return signal, two quick tugs, and waited to be brought back to safety. Yet he couldn't just have a simple and safe visit. Oh no, he was staying in the hole a little longer. A few seconds passed, then a few more, then a few more, and no response from above came.